It’s that time again, which happens once every 4 years, a special occasion held on January 20th. It’s meant to start the new term of a presidency. This term’s winner, Donald Trump, is already accustomed to its traditions, an inauguration. Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, serving until 2020, and has now been re-elected.
What are the takeaways from Trump’s second inauguration?
First and foremost, the inaugural address was moved indoors due to frigid weather outside the U.S. Capitol. Many sources, including npr.org, quoted Donald Trump’s inauguration as “the most unusual inauguration in American history”, although not explaining why. Nothing was unusual about the address; the only part that could be deemed “unusual” was Trump’s reprimanding of Joe Biden sitting only a couple feet away.
Trump quoted that this is the start of a “Golden Age” and is very hopeful for the state of the country over the next 4 years. So what are the 4 key takeaways?
- A “Golden Age” Vision in Nationalistic and Popular Tone
In his first speech, America’s new president assured a “Golden Age” with a purpose for revival and strengthening of America and an emphasis on his “America First” campaign, which targets the strengthening of industries locally, the projection of military powers, and the exercise of national independence. A mix of hope and inspiration, backed with nationalism and a focus on the common people, reflected the goal of having America first in national and international politics.
- Controversial and Quick Action through Executive Orders
Soon after taking office, America’s new president signed a series of executive orders, including withdrawing its presence in Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, a move that undid several actions in the immediate past administration. Trump finds this to be reasonable as the U.S. was contributing more than any other country, and when you have countries like China with a population 4 times that of the U.S., they should not be paying half of what the U.S. was in order to combat the issue. In addition, a national state of emergency at America’s southern borders was declared in order to start mass deportations. The military was sent to secure the country’s borders, which signaled a return to stricter policies in relation to immigrants and a move towards a move out of multinational collaboration.
- Identification with Wealthy People and Appointments
The ceremony handing over powers saw a vast presence of wealthy entrepreneurs, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos, a reflection of acceptance of these powerful people in society by America’s new president. To drive the message home, Elon Musk took over the Department of Government Efficiency, a move geared towards injecting private sector expertise in administration. Trump was quickly criticized for putting wealthy Americans first at the expense of the welfare of ordinary Americans. This is reasonable as questions will arise; such a person having such a great amount of power may cause citizens to think that corruption could come into play.
- Military Strength and Expansion in a Forefront Position in Foreign Policy
In his speech, Trump focused on strengthening U.S. military capabilities and expansion, but there was not one mention of traditional friends. What that reveals to us is a move towards possibly acting alone and putting nationalistic concerns first, a sign that can possibly interpret a move away from traditional alliances and cooperative approaches. Friends and enemies both are bracing for the upheavals that can possibly establish in international relations with such an “America First” ideology. This source, coming from npr.org, we find to be an outlier, as Trump’s relations with foreign countries have yet to be seen as bad but rather the same, if not better, than from his last term.
Now on to Trump’s immediate actions regarding illegal immigrants in the United States of America:
Many people do not like the recent actions of Donald J. Trump’s mass deportation crackdown on illegal immigrants with the help of ICE, but many people don’t paint the whole picture. This is due to the fact that most of the people being deported are criminals who have endangered towns and cities. This is important as this move can help lower crime rates. Since Donald Trump has left office in 2020, the crime rates have risen according to politfact.com by 43%. Upon hearing of President Trump’s arrival in office for 2024, crime rates dropped by 3%, according to fortune.com, and that is before he even took office and used the assistance of ICE.
Next comes the recent actions that happened with Columbia:
The most recent disagreement between the United States and Columbia was when the president, Gustavo Petro, denied permission for a U.S. military plane carrying deported Colombian migrants to land, citing that deportees should be transported on a civilian aircraft so that they are treated with dignity. To this, Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on goods from Columbia and visa restrictions on its officials. Confronted with these possible economic consequences, Columbia consented to take the deportees on U.S. military planes without conditions. After this conflict, the U.S. abstained from imposing the proposed tariffs and sanctions, signaling a temporary resolution to the dispute.
Some things you may not have realized…
- President Donald Trump signed more Day 1 executive orders than the last ten presidents combined.
- Since signing, U.S. equity markets are higher and the S&P 500 reached its first all-time high of 2025.
- In fixed income, Treasury yields are finishing where they started the week. In commodities, the price of oil has declined by the most since November. Commodities traders are preparing for increased supply amid the administration’s stance on increased drilling and a call for more supply from OPEC members.
- Tariffs today make up less than 2% of federal receipts.
(All of these facts are from jpmorgan.com)
Conclusion
It is just the start of his presidency and President Trump has already signed a bunch of executive orders and made decisions showing his devotion to “America First”. Some of these include backing out of multi-pact agreements, imposing stricter restrictions regarding immigrants, and taking turns in national politics. Overall, these actions support an ambitious and combative style of politics, reflective of his campaign and a will to make the country better.
References
Durkin, A. (2024, September 18). Trump claims crime is ‘through the roof,’ but here’s what FBI data actually say. Fortune. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://fortune.com/2024/09/23/us-crime-donald-trump-fbi-data-2023-murder-manslaughter-rape-assault-theft/
Gamboa, S., & Acevedo, N. (2025, January 28). Trump’s ICE Operations in Chicago. Trump immigration raids snag U.S. citizens, including Native Americans, raising racial profiling fears. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203
Ghaffary, S. (2021, May 4). ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ functions like a blog for the former president. Vox. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/5/4/22419905/from-the-desk-of-donald-trump-twitter-facebook-ban
Jacobson, L. (2024, September 4). 43% Increase in Crime Rates Since Donald J. Trump’s Vacancy in Office. Donald Trump said violent crime spiked 43% under Biden-Harris. That ignores reams of data. Retrieved January 29, 25, from https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/04/donald-trump/donald-trump-said-violent-crime-is-up-43-but-that/
Montanaro, D. (2025, January 20). 4 takeaways from Trump’s second inaugural address. NPR. Retrieved January 23, 2025, from https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43759/trump-inaugural-address-key-moments
President Trump’s Inaugural Address. (2025, January 21). U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 31, 2025, from https://www.commerce.gov/news/speeches/2025/01/president-trumps-inaugural-address
Wynne, A. (2025, January 24). The first days of the Trump presidency: 3 things we learned. Market update. https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/markets/top-market-takeaways/tmt-the-first-days-of-the-trump-presidency-3-things-we-learned
